


What Makes A Dream

by Interrobang



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, it's not quite purple but the prose is definitely at least lilac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28082070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Interrobang/pseuds/Interrobang
Summary: Thanatos asks Zagreus why his bed is made to be so comfortable when he so rarely uses it.
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 219





	What Makes A Dream

**Author's Note:**

> *dabs* This is my first fic for this fandom. Life Motif Kisses Death Motif is MY SHIT. thank you hadesgame for this meal

Zagreus's bed is a surprisingly cozy affair. While much of the underworld lends itself a red cast or an ethereal purple-green hue, Zagreus has outfitted the place of his rest with soft ocean blues, a thick comforter to keep off the rare chill, plush pillows, and a selection of books that look well-thumbed and much loved. 

In this room silent but for the whispers of the universe from the mirror on the far wall, time seems to pause its ceaseless path. This room, which once was a place of solace, now carries the air of an abandoned home. And yet the bed is soft and tidily made, waiting for the time when its master will collapse into it once again.

Thanatos hovers near the bed while he waits for Zagreus's return. The prince always ends up here eventually. Thanatos had seen Zagreus not so long ago, further in his endeavor than usual, but weary and sure to float back downstream sooner rather than later. 

Thanatos sinks to the floor and allows himself to sit on the bed. The blankets are just as soft as they look.

Sure enough, Zagreus returns in good time. He's still dripping from the Styx, leaving steaming footprints in on the tile behind him, and he looks tired-- but he brightens when he sees Thanatos waiting for him.

"Than! You came," he says warmly. He wipes a stray rivulet of water from his face, shaking himself briskly in a way _very_ reminiscent of his pet.

"You did tell me to," Thanatos says with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, well..." Zagreus's smile falters for half a second, but renews when he sees how Thanatos is waiting for him. "Comfortable?"

Thanatos flushes, the unfamiliar heat on his cheeks hot as the rare glimpse of summer sun in the mortal realm. He sits up more straightly in his seat on the bed. 

"I...only wondered why you had such a soft bed, when you hate to rest here so much."

"That's easy," Zagreus says. Thanatos watches as the prince unselfconsciously undoes his belt and begins to strip, searching through the haphazardly-strewn piles of belongings for something dry to wear. "Used to be my favorite thing in this place. Job was a bore, you can only spar with the same shades so many times before it gets old, and sometimes, you know, a minor god just needs a soft pillow and the dark behind his eyelids for a bit."

"I wouldn't know."

Zagreus's face morphs into a mask of confusion. "You sleep, don't you?"

"Rarely," Thanatos allows. "It's not terribly pleasant. Or conducive to my work."

Zagreus, now clad is something dry and comfortable, drops down on the bed next to Thanatos with a deep, shuddering sigh.

"Now that is just sad, Than." Zagreus's hand inches closer, fingers petting along the back of Thanatos's hand. His touch is like a brand against Thanatos's skin. "Brother of Sleep Incarnate, and yet immune to its joys."

"What joy is there to be found in a lapse of consciousness?" Thanatos asks, flushing further. As they talk, Zagreus leans in further, pressed now shoulder to shoulder along Thanatos's side. This close Thanatos can smell him-- the faint acidity of the Styx has barely washed away the iron-and-salt tang of bloodsweattears that clings to Zagreus after every escape attempt.

"Well..." Zagreus drops his head to Thanatos's shoulder, skull a warm weight against his own chilled skin. The prince presses a kiss to Thanatos's neck-- and laughs, the bastard, when Thanatos shivers instinctually and leans closer. "It's not really sleep itself, you see, but the path to get there."

"Explain," Thanatos sighs as he brings a hand up to cup the back of Zagreus's neck, holding him closer. Zagreus's other hand has come up to rest on Thanatos's side, sliding up and down the curve of his hip in slow, soothing strokes. 

"The warmth, for one," Zagreus says with a laugh. He shifts, and all at once Thanatos has a lapful of tired godling, smiling down at him as smugly as if he found Thanatos's lap as fine a seat as his father's throne. 

Thanatos lets himself be pushed down, shoulders sinking into the soft blue comforter with a gentle thump. "And?"

"And the gentle caress of the dark," Zagreus continues, drawing his hands down Thanatos's chest. He pushes Thanatos's chiton down, lets it hang loose about his waist to bare more skin for him to devour with his eyes. 

Thanatos shudders under the brand-like touch, sure that his skin has pinked under Zagreus's heat. He tilts his head up, just a fraction, hoping Zagreus can take a hint. "And what else?"

Zagreus's eyes twinkle with affection as he leans down, caging Thanatos in with his arms on either side of Thanatos's head. He pushes closer, pressing their chests together, to kiss Thanatos chastely on the cheek, then peck softly beside his ear, along his jaw, down to the junction of neck and shoulder-- where then he bites gently, mouth hot and molten as the heart of a volcano. 

Thanatos sucks in a sharp breath, hands clutching the back of Zagreus's head. His fingers dig into soft hair, not sure if he should pull Zagreus closer or yank him away. He settles, instead, for staying completely still. "What else, Zagreus?" he says again, and flushes further at raspy betrayal of want his voice conveys.

"Don't you know this?" Zagreus asks teasingly. Thanatos can feel the man's smile against his collar bone. "When exhaustion finally overtakes you, and you start to slip away-- well, Sleep _is_ the brother of Death, and _oh,_ " Zagreus sighs, and shifts up, and presses one firm kiss to Thanatos's lips, lingering and soft. "Death _does_ kiss so sweetly."

There's not much talking after that.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Twitter as @GoInterrobang and I post a lot of bullshit and sometimes memes.


End file.
